


Tropic Sun

by FicticiousDelicious



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, Beach Sex, Beaches, Homosexuality, Islands, M/M, Ocean, Romance, Sex, Slightly Alternate Universe, South Blue, Tropical setting, Vacation, Violence, Work In Progress, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-18 17:51:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FicticiousDelicious/pseuds/FicticiousDelicious
Summary: Extremely critical Captain Trafalgar Law is visiting the South Blue with some of his crew. This vacation is well needed and deserved. What does their tropical getaway hold for them? A stranger to the captain and his crew, Eustass Kidd (I spell it with two ‘d’s), makes an appearance and he might just give Law more personality than the captain ever bargained for…This story is ongoing. Keep checking back for more chapters.!!Disclaimer!! I do not own the characters or settings mentioned in Tropic Sun nor do I make any profit of any kind from their mention. Ownership of these One Piece characters and settings goes to Eiichiro Oda. All Characters/Settings © Eiichiro OdaDeviantArt.com/FicticiousDelicious or FicticiousDelicious.Tumblr.com





	1. Down by the Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings per this chapter: N/A

**Chapter 1**

**"Down by the Ocean"**

 

[On a tropical vacation island in the South Blue...]

 

            "Captain!!!" Bepo, the white bear, came tumbling down the boat ramp, nearly on all fours trying his best not to topple over on his companions. They all stopped at the end of the ramp, Bepo managed to avoid bowling them over somehow and stared in awe of the pristine beachy scenery which met their eyes. A long flat expanse of sand with two palm trees about a hundred feet away and the rest of the foliage many yards off lay before their landing site. This place was an ideal paradise to catch some rest and relaxation, and since they'd come to the less populated side of the island there wasn't another ship or person anywhere in sight!

 

            "Captain!!!" As the crew began to unpack bags and crates from their sailboat the man Bepo called 'Captain', the infamous Trafalgar Law, was nowhere to be found. Searching everywhere, even under boxes the crew had already unpacked and set in the sand, Bepo's efforts to find his captain amidst the camp were in vain. Trafalgar had been right in front of them before disembarking but now... With mostly just flat beach in front of them it's not like there were many places to disappear to in the open like this, and his captain wouldn't have gone in the water. Law couldn't swim to save his life. Where could his peculiarly elusive captain have gone after they'd just landed?!

 

            Under a tall palm, about a hundred feet from the crew, Trafalgar looked on at his men unloading their supplies, tents, and setting things up for this evening. Typically they traveled in a submarine, so it sure was strange looking up and seeing a stock white sail casting its long shadow over a normal sailboat. Not to mention they lived in that same submarine, so unpacking and staking out an area of dry land felt a little _off_...not that Law was helping them unpack by supervising.

 

            Still crouched down in the shade Trafalgar propped his long sword up against the smooth trunk of a palm tree - one of the two that stood together - to relax, then off came his yellow and black hoodie which was discarded on the shady sand. He was bare chested now and that felt nice. A breeze lifted the fronds on distant ferns and short palms, also the ones overhead, and made the sail of their boat sway. He relished the partial cool of the breeze blowing over his exposed skin, may it never come to an end. The air here seemed so vast. A wind blowing in uninterrupted from the sea...it probably wouldn't end. An especially pure scent of some elusive nature hung in the air here, Law detected that almost immediately. It was a cleaner scent than what other seas put forth, still with some saltiness about it. Not as fond of the sea, as swimming wasn't his forte, Law still had to admit the warm saltwater looked inviting as vibrant blues colored the water especially light aqua where it was most shallow. The waves foamed peacefully. The all soft sandbank they'd pulled ashore over was so gradual he might even like walking in the water up to knee depth. Some heat rose from the dry sand despite the breeze he so savored but Trafalgar paid it little mind, his contentment in the shade kept his keen senses from overheating. Being under one of two palms that were the closest to their camp Law wasn't just looking for shade, this spot would take a few minutes for Bepo to find. As their captain, he only desired a few minutes of solitude after spending an eternity sailing here on a much smaller ship than their submarine with the same seven people; he figured it was a fair plight. He already knew the bear would look high and low for him, not to mention it was obvious Bepo was running from one end of their landing site to the next unable to find something. Bepo might be desperate right now but he wasn't dull, eventually the white bear would take notice of the one area he hadn't searched - the palm trees - but at least this bliss could last for a few minutes more.

 

            Trafalgar closed his eyes, leaning back against the unusual textured trunk of the palm, listening to his crew yell from a distance as they closed the sails on the boat. Waves rolled in and splashed, drowning out the sound of men on this secluded slice of beach. After moments he could hear the light rustle of this and farther - very distant - palms' fronds rustling as waves continued to roll, those things alone. Paradise...so this was the South Blue. There was far more to experience here than the peace of the beach though, but whatever adventures Trafalgar and his crew were to endure they weren't crystal clear...yet.

 

            The bliss ended when one determined white bear came scrambling over and collapsed in the shade at Law's feet. The doctor cracked one eye open despite already knowing whom it was. Bepo whined, "I can't wait until the sun goes down..." laying belly flat against shady sand. His captain chuckled and nudged the bear's plump side with the heel of his shoe.

 

            "Soon Bepo. Soon." This 'affection', if one could call it that, was privy only to his crew. The way Law saw things, loyalty among comrades was earned. Affection was a benefit of mutual loyalty, a rare show indeed from this crew's very critical captain. Rights to loyalty were in the components of strength, wit, discipline, and intelligence. These four reigned supreme as Trafalgar's requirements and tools. Like one savory desert among many healthier foods of a well balanced meal he made sure affection showed up sometimes.

 

            The remainder of the day was spent organizing their camp, fussing over whose stuff was whose and getting some sturdy pup tents pitched. It would be a safe bet that Law's was the farthest away. As the sun was setting over the massive body of water Trafalgar drove his stakes in beside his tall, shady palm. Pup tents were easy to set up alone...unless you were someone who tried to hold onto his weapon at the same time... Bepo had already finished with his and bounded over the sand to help his captain, snatching away the long sword tucked under Trafalgar's arm. "Bepo!" Law let go of the tent to fuss at the white bear. A pole he'd been holding came down while his back was turned...

 

            The bear took a reasonably long step backward, still clutching the sword, after he saw the pole clock Law on the back of his head.

 

            "Give that back, Bepo." Under his breath the captain muttered something else.

 

            There was an oddly dark tone to the doctor's stern words. Bepo didn't like it but refused and shook his head avidly, "No Captain! You need your tent up first."

 

            Law picked up a rock and suddenly substituted the sword for that rock. Noticing he was holding a rock and that the sword was back in his captain's clutch Bepo stamped a foot repeatedly against the sand. It was funny to watch, even funnier to instigate, but teasing one of his best crew members wasn't the goal. Law just wanted that sword back. "Bepo..."

 

            "Aye, aye! I'm sorry, Captain." The bear's ears drooped and he bowed, apologizing.

 

            "Apologizing so soon?" Law set aside the long sword, acknowledging that putting it down was good advice he'd ignored. "Whatever for?"

 

            The bear dropped his rock and smiled sheepishly. The captain had taken his advice.

 

            "Hold this supporting pole up." Law was back to erecting the tent and Bepo jumped at the request.

 

            "Aye!"

 

            Trafalgar was the last one left messing with his tent and arranging his belongings, so after Bepo had dashed off to get cooked fish for his dinner - which were roasting food over the rest of the group's fire - Law found it all too convenient to crawl under the supported cloth and resign himself for the night.


	2. In Search of Supplies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings per this chapter: N/A

**Chapter 2**

**"In Search of Supplies"**

 

            The morning sun was insufferable, burning down on the camp. Unfortunately someone, who probably had too much to drink, had left the caps off several water barrels so their water supply had mostly evaporated into the heat by the time the crew was awake. Dumb and potentially fatal mistake! Besides that mishap - creating a desperate demand for non-salty water - they also needed to refresh other supplies. Farther inland there was a village, marked by an outline and its name scrawled on their raggedy map. Hopefully it was, as rumors from neighboring islands said that this village was a place to find proper materials. Rumor until proven true.

 

            Jean Bart was left to guard the ship and camp with two other crewmen, more than should be needed but if another pirate crew came sailing by it was a precaution well heeded. Shachi and Penguin were to pull a wooden cart the whole way to the village. Tugging that irritating thing through the sand and brush was no easy task; luckily the foliage - not a far cry off from their ship - was a façade for just how close their camp was to the village. They were much closer than the map had suggested, though that didn't serve to assist the fact that the ferns, broad leaves, and palm plant trunks grew in copious amounts and were blocking most every pathway. Law chopped what he could with his 'ability' and the sharpened edge of his long sword. Bepo pushed some of the obstructing leaves away with his bare paws, not destroying the foliage at first. Eventually the exhausted bear stopped caring and started yanking and shredding with claws. Was this dense forest of tropical plants ever going to end?! Traveling through took a little over a half-hour of snapping limbs and weaving around palm groves to break out of the tropical forest and land on a dusty roadway. At least the plants towering overhead were good for shade. They had predicted at least an hour's trek but who was complaining when it had only taken half the predicted time and now that they'd landed on a distinct road.

 

            Striding into civilization after following their map's guidance along the dusty roadway for ten or twenty minutes, Law was quick to observe that this division of the village - with its plastic beach chairs, workers in colorful uniforms, and obvious lax patrons lounging about free of cares - was undoubtedly a tourist attraction. A big one. Luckily because of a constant flow of obnoxious tourists, there were markets set up farther down the roadway which cut through the village. These outdoor markets proved their worth, ownership held mostly by natives to the island. They sold exactly what the crew was seeking, fresh produce! Fruits, vegetables, and water by the barrel were inspected, purchased, then loaded into the cart by Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. Much to the other men's dismay their captain was unsympathetic to their straining, he refused to help pull the cart.

 

            "Captain, I don't think we're going to be able to get all this back if we add anymore to the cart...it's so heavy- Ouch!" Shachi ceased his griping when Penguin whacked him.

 

            "Shush!" Penguin snapped, "He'll make us drag more on purpose if you keep complaining..."

 

            Penguin knew Law all too well. Despite hearing and understanding them perfectly, Law ignored the rabble and bickering from behind as he walked ahead of his companions. Still he had to admit he really wouldn't be able to get them to physically drag much more back to the camp if he was too cruel. There was a physical limit on the weight they could handle hauling so... After adding two more barrels containing rum, which for some reason made the cart draggers less vocal about their distress, Law made a chance find. It would be beneficial to get back to the sailboat quicker so some of the meat didn't have a chance to spoil in the extreme heat. Law found a man working under an awning at the market who knew of a better way to get back to the shoreline where they needed to drop off the supplies.

 

            "Ja cano' miss it." His islander accent was heavy. "Big road with dem'in bumpy stones fer pavin' little ways down. It cut'in t'rough dem plant trees an' comin' out on da sand tha' lines da shore. Ja seein' it when ja come down this'in road furth'a inta town, keep walkin' an' get ta da _real_ half'a this'in village 'a mine. Righ' 'fore tha' real half 'em stony road starts." The pirate captain before him quirked a brow.

 

            "'Real' half? This market place isn't?" Law reiterated.

 

            "Ja noticin' these'in flashy foreigns? This'in their half da town. Ja want ta get'in see da _REAL_ half ja be gettin' down da road, comin' in native. There'in no place like home." The man with dark tanned skin and a wreath of local fronds around his head - which seemed to serve to shade his face - gave a hearty laugh and pointed down the road past the tourist's market.

 

            Trafalgar nodded, thanking the local and led his group in the direction given. He heard the same man call at them as they walked away, "Ja also might wan' be gettin dat bear there'in shavin'! Else 'e get cooked!" Another bought of cackling laughter followed and Bepo energetically scolded the tan local from their growing distance.

 

            Smiling to himself over the comical bellowing Law did conjure a thought after what the man had said. They had been tromping around in their typical clothing with long sleeves and full pant-legs since they got here. Regardless of color - which Penguin and Shachi were lucky enough to be wearing white - their dress was bound to become unbearably sweltering after only a few more hours like this. They came to an obvious divide in territory, the end of a wide road. One way forked off toward the beach, the other to this 'real' half of the village they'd heard mentioned.

 

            "Deliver these supplies to our camp. If I catch you loafing when I return I guarantee you a miserable day in the blazing heat, and do not touch that rum." Trafalgar sent Shachi and Penguin on ahead with their supplies and the strict warning. Bepo was made to linger back with his captain as they followed the opposite fork into the supposedly less tourist infested area.

 

            Where tall buildings of fancy brick and artificial plants would have stood in pots on balconies there were now huts and much smaller buildings crafted of the actual plants and resources native to the island. Interesting music... The sounds of strumming acoustic guitar, hand drums, and steelpans played in melodic tandem flowing through the rich native atmosphere. The instruments were being played from a distance away, not too far off, but they were heard broadly. This was the swing of roots reggae. It certainly created a pleasant atmosphere without excessive bells and whistles. People standing beside their well fashioned houses of sticks, mud, and stone were humming; each hummed with different tones and at varying octaves but it was all the same upbeat tune, synched with the distant reggae. Trafalgar also took notice of their dress. Vibrant colors and bizarre, loud patterns seemed typical. Baggy and loose clothing but no shoes though. Most of the people here were tanned to a fair brown or darker shades. Whether tan skin was in their genetics or a product of the constant overhead sun was up to speculation by Law. It wasn't as though these people lived without shade. There were overhead awnings made of stretched pelts under which most of the residents grouped. Heat stroke wasn't in their interest despite dark tanning. Perhaps their skin was browned from love of their climate, or just from working in its regular conditions - just as most persons in the North Blue were pale from their many layers of clothes protecting them from a frigid conditions.

 

            Another vast difference between this half of the town and the tourist's side were the people's outwardly affable dispositions. Here there weren't so many people passing down the street that Law and Bepo were swept up in the masses. Persons on both sides would catch a glimpse of strangers and some waved, others smiled. They didn't seem to mind obvious visitors. This made little difference to the critical captain who merely noticed and looked away but Bepo was enjoying the greetings and returning them. "Look Captain! They're waving at us!"

 

            "Is that such a remarkable feat?"

 

            "You're so harsh Captain..." Bepo pouted, still trailing along. Were they only wandering or did the captain have something he was looking for? Bepo had to wonder. One could never quite tell with Law, the man could be utterly focused at a moment's notice if he so chose to be. For that Law was usually silent, sometimes coldly so. The captain also didn't always make their destination clear. He was a very trustworthy leader so the crew still followed if he told them to.

 

            The pair passed one or two people traveling in the opposite direction every once and a while and saw many more stopping on the edges of the road - gathering at meager stands to buy what others set out to sell. All of them seemed to be enjoying the glory of this blindingly sunny day. Bepo caught sight of fluttering cloths hanging from strings that were tied between moderately tall trees and erected poles ahead. "Captain! Look!"

 

            Law sighed and let drifting eyes follow Bepo as the bear ventured to investigate the artistic cloths. The lumbering bear had actually made an interesting find. Surprised by the artistry, the gently flapping cloth and colors romanced Trafalgar's sight; enough to be sufficient leverage to coax the dark doctor over. He stepped between the hung sections of evenly cut cloth and grazed his hand against whichever ones blew close. They were soft and beautiful, exotic and loud. He had to wonder, but not for long, what they might be used for.

 

            Bepo had found the keeper of these, a man with fiery red hair and the palest skin Law had seen since their arrival. Trafalgar watched the salesman with curious hair from between two hanging sections of the vibrant cloths - his attempt to remain unobserved. The man was distracted, showing Bepo some different dyed wraps that were laying on a table, carefully lifting one at a time. It was just a guess, but these natives with their leisurely set-ups for shops, mustn't have widespread problems with theft. Besides that, who would want to steal anything with such a muscular individual on guard - the keeper of these cloths. Trafalgar found himself immersed in distant inspection, waiting to see the man's face come about. What did he look like? How shamelessly curious of himself to wonder that.

 

            "Hey, this yer friend?"

 

            Law snapped out of his trance to realize he'd been spotted by the pale redhead who had tipped his head to see around the plump white bear.

 

            Bepo quickly turned and grinned, "Captain! I thought you wouldn't be interested in these!" He held up a cloth with bright green stars and waves of blue splashed across its surface, "Look at this one! It's so bright!"

 

            An odd grin tugged at the corners of Law's mouth, his mute attention to the redhead continued.

 

            "Yer friend better not be a thief."

 

            Perhaps he was putting forth too much of questionable aura from his intentionally maintained distance. Law was a pirate but he wasn't interested in stealing any of these cloths. He felt that fact should be cleared up, "I'm no thief."

 

            "Well yer off there by yourself," the redhead made an amiable gesture toward himself and Bepo. "Why don't ya join us over here?"

 

            He was just pegged for a thief and now the man was cozying up? "No thank you, kindly. I quite like it over here."

 

            The redhead rolled his red wine colored eyes, "Fine, suit yerself," he shrugged about to turn his back and continue showing Bepo different fabrics and designs, "but remember this island's small, if ya steal shit and I come across ya again I'll beat yer ass."

 

            "Would that stand as a promise?" Trafalgar found himself crossing both arms and striding with a cocky gait a bit closer to the pale man. Bepo was entirely too distracted with colors to look up at the men having a polite spat.

 

            Eustass allowed a grin to spread across his dark painted lips, crossing arms to mimic the stranger. "Yea, and I don't break promises."

 

            Law kept some distance, a few feet, but walked to the other side of Bepo, following the deep red gaze. Whatever existed in such depth of red was boisterous and threatening. "I presume these are all yours? You _are_ fairly protective of them."

 

            Settling onto a wooden crate, to take the weight off his feet for the moment, the redhead ran a hand through the lively crimson up-do covering his head. "Actually no. Yammaya is, she's just out on an errand. I'm helping out while she's not here, and I'm protective because she trusts me."

 

            "Opting to spend hours out in the sun with such pale skin, how noble."

 

            Sarcasm of that jab wasn't so readily evident, if existent at all. The redhead defended himself, "Hey now, that's just low. I ain't worried a damn bit."

 

            "Then sun-block lotion must be your second skin."

 

            "Feh," Eustass stood up from his crate and put both hands on his hips.

 

            Trafalgar noticed painted nails of the matching shade to the man's lipstick. Lipstick on a man...that by itself was hard to fathom. What unusual stylistic choices; 'crazy' was the best word to sum this man up. Though the impressive musculature, bulging biceps, broad shoulders, and fit core wouldn't settle into the same category. For an instant Trafalgar wished the man hadn't those obstructing reptile print trousers on; a bare and impressive upper torso was bound to mean something nearly as impressive below. Not to say the dear dark doctor was undressing another man subconsciously, Law just had a keen eye for attractive anatomy. He wasn't disappointed. The 'v' shape of the redhead's lower abdominals had Law staring until fingers snapped in his face.

 

            "Stuck on a thought?" The redhead and Bepo had been looking through cloths while the shady captain was distracted by Eustass's muscles moving.

 

            The doctor's stare shot up to catch the redhead smiling, the man jerked a thumb at Bepo who had already started to walk back to the road with his purchase. Managed to complete a whole transaction while he was so fixed on staring he hadn't even noticed...

 

            "Yer friend's going to leave ya if ya aren't careful." The redhead was obviously making an effort not to show more than a subtle smile.

 

            Had he really lost himself so thoroughly in ogling? How shameful...but this man didn't seem perturbed. Perhaps the redhead was oblivious. Masking the minutes of fixation, Trafalgar returned the subtle smile with one of his own - a more rare occurrence than his displays of friendly affection. Most likely he would never see this same individual again, what did one smile matter? In no hurry the doctor caught up to Bepo, leaving the shop keeper by himself, and the bear and his captain began to venture back up the road so they could get to the beach before it was evening - which was nearing.

 

            Bepo rifled through the brown paper bag, which was quite large for only one item, it had Law wondering. Curiosity like this was just as rare as affection and a genuine smile. Seems it was a day of rarities... "Bepo, exactly how many of those did you buy?"

 

            "One for both of us!" The bear continued fishing through the bag and held up the one he'd chosen for himself by its corner. "Mine's this one." The fabric was a dark green hue with accents of lime green and patterns of different tropical animals. "And this one's yours," he continued, dropping the corner of his and taking an entire wrap out of the bag and handing it to his captain. "We should come back and buy the others some of these too," he mentioned while Trafalgar unfolded part of the dark cloth.

 

            It was mostly blue, a rich shade like the ocean's lower currents which Trafalgar's crew saw regularly through the glass windows of their submarine. Wispy peach colored lines looked like flames against the obscure blue... "These colors are excellent," the infamous doctor had let a good remark slip, not handing the cloth back to the bear to carry but holding onto it himself. Oops…he’d said that aloud.

 

            Bepo laughed, “See! They’re wonderful!”

 

            Law’s hands remained with the cloth…his eyes as well.


	3. Spontaneous Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings per this chapter: N/A

**Chapter 3**

**" **Spontaneous** Fire"**

 

[One day later...]

 

            "Stop eating all of the same thing! There won't be any left for the rest of us!" The crew was bickering over an evening meal which they had bought from a local island chef. Freshly made food. For dinner they were set up on the beach near the village where they’d purchased their supplies, as was the chef - his grill area covered a small section of the sand.

 

            Today Bepo and Trafalgar had brought the rest of the crew back into the 'real' half of the village to buy the rest of the men some of those comfortable and stylish cloth wraps. Bepo wore his lime colored one like a toga, the bear loved it. Law, surprisingly, had replaced his spotted jeans with his deep blue wrap the minute they got back to their ship _yesterday_...but refused to go without his hoodie while the long wrap was around his waist. It was a minor step toward enjoying his vacation more by relaxing. Something in him hoped that the sharp-witted redhead would be watching the cloths again today, perhaps just so he could snark at the man more, but the nameless fellow sadly was not. An older woman with a dark tan and grey hair to her mid-back was there. Tropical flowers she had weaved into her grey hair; 'Yammaya' Trafalgar had remembered while watching his men choose their wraps from a distance in the earlier hours of the day.

 

            Now that the sun was halfway set and the group of pirates were feasting near the village, because there was really no excuse to trudge all the way back to the ship with their stomachs churning, and everything seemed to liven up. It wasn’t just the pirates and the chef on the beach… Locals were stirring around the chef's stand and enjoying the beach at sunset too.

 

            Trafalgar sat by his none-too lonesome and listened to his men bickering about who was eating too much meat, fruit, whatever. It was times like these that the captain was glad he took measures to separate out a reasonable portion for himself firstly. It might seem selfish but Trafalgar viewed it as more efficient. He bit into a chunk of seasoned and salted fish, watching the halved sun against the ocean's horizon. A cool breeze blew over the beach every now and again and eased the tropical heat, even the nights here were extremely warm. Unlike many pirates he hadn't had his fill of strikingly orange sunsets because the crew spent most of their time traversing underwater in a submarine. He was relaxed, sitting on a stout rock with bare feet buried partly in the sand. This must have confused the callouses on his heels because they weren't being subjected to his usual shoes. He thoroughly enjoyed the fish and started to watch a group other than his own gathering farther out on the beach, closer to the water. They were locals definitely but what were they doing? Until fires were ignited on the ends of sticks that those people carried Law was clueless about their reason for being so far out on the beach at night. Their actions intrigued him more when they lit both ends of these sticks. If they weren’t lighting torches what was this?

 

            Fire danced against the coming of night; boldly hurled into the air, caught, and spun again. In the darkness the trails of the blazes created temporary lines of brilliant light that even bickering crew members of his wouldn't miss. While Bepo, Shachi, and the rest of them gawked at the dangerous entertainment from afar Trafalgar watched one or two flashy tricks and then returned to finishing his meal with his head down, his curiosity about what those people were doing was quelled well enough. Shame that.

 

            Maybe an hour later, bare feet hopped across the sand and rowdy shouts of local gibberish were called out when the fire performers put out their flaming sticks and cut over to the beach's grill. They were hungry! This area of the beach was becoming more crowded in these nighttime hours. Varying shades of men and women mingled with other locals to grab a bite of delicious sea meat to eat at the grill from the skilled chef and some assistants which had joined him. Some passers by Law and his crew tried petting Bepo, the bear allowed most of them to do so - only tiring of it after about the tenth set of hands mussing his fur. Not a one escaped the vigilant captain's eyes... Suddenly a fire was lit up a short distance from Trafalgar and the pirate captain's attention snapped toward the bright flare and found a man wearing a short wrap swinging chains with fires at their ends around and around in intricate shapes with planned timing. Shortly followed more fires in various places around the grill as other performers resumed their dangerous displays close-by and then the sound of melodic steelpans and hand drums began. The sun was nearly gone and warm fires lit the blackness of night in ways this pirate captain couldn't continue to ignore. The man with fires on spinning chains was the most convenient to watch; the longer Law stared at the mesmerizing flames the more difficult it was to look away.

 

            A hand suddenly tapped the shady pirate's shoulder.

 

 _Not_ startled, Law turned and came face to hip with someone. Dark eyes rolled up the pale body and piercing red eyes of wine watched from above. The head of this man, topped with red hair, was impossible to be mistaken for any other stranger. A double ended torch was strapped to this fellow's back and chains dangled from the lower end of the stick. It wouldn't be Law who spoke first, but not because the other man was so eager.

 

            "So ya know where to get good clothes and good food," Eustass remarked. “This island might not kill ya after all.”

 

            "I would hardly call one piece of cloth clothing."

 

            The redhead snorted, "Well by that jacket I suppose nah, ya wouldn't. Ya should ditch that, it makes ya stick out."

 

            "Like a civilized man."

 

            "Like a tourist." The taller one corrected. "Or a prick."

 

            Such a rude or crude response earned a further upturn of the doctor's face. "I resemble a man of civilized roots I would stress to you. I also say it would be a horrible thing if a prick didn't stick out. It's only natural."

 

            Clearly not put off by the quick and crude jokes, Eustass began laughing.

 

            "I fail to see why you should laugh. I am trying to discourage you from making noise."

 

            The pale man simultaneously rubbed his thumbs against his closed eyes before that loud laughter stifled itself. "Ya really are a prick." He seemed a little amazed.

 

            "Back to square one..." the 'overdressed' doctor remarked, looking down from 'unwanted' company, his eyes scanned the vivid crimson wrap around the redhead's hips on the way down.

 

            "Look, I wasn't going to say anything but ya were watching that guy and I thought I might let ya use my stick."

 

            "Heaven forbid."

 

            This foreigner obviously wasn't a fool; they could get stuck in a loop going around like this, so Eustass made himself frown. "That's two unnecessary references and if ya strike three, maybe I will just leave ya alone."

 

            Go ahead and let this baby-skinned joke of a local say one more thing that he could turn against him, but before he realized Law heard a heavy 'thump' as the redhead sat down on the sand beside him and started eating from the plate of food he'd brought with him. "Chew quietly please."

 

            Eustass remained silent toward that slight provocation, enjoying his food.

 

            The silence signaled the failure of his taunt. Trafalgar was more annoyed by silence in the coming seconds than conversation. "We are _not_ friends. You should go eat with people who accept you."

 

            "Like who? My boring, same old same friends?" the second man mumbled with a full mouth of octopus meat. "I see them all the time, yer much more interesting. I guess yer all a group of pirates right..?" Eustass followed up by saying after swallowing his bite of his food.

 

            Deciding not to answer, Law noted how fast this man ate and was slightly disgusted. How could anyone tell what they were consuming if they didn't inspect it first. He looked away and stared at the flickering and whirling fires along the beach. ...but what a nice setting for a distraction. This place was growing on the darkly tempered captain, perhaps. In a moment there was a sudden tug on the emblem barring jacket and the dark doctor was pulled to his feet. "What in the name of the Great Sea are you doing? Trying to stretch my clothing out?!" he snapped realizing the redhead was the one instigating the yank that had brought him to his feet.

 

            "No. I'm just not going to sitting around, it’s why I brought all my stuff. Ya shouldn't sit around all night either." Eustass tipped his head back, indicating the stick with chains dangling from it.

 

            The critical pirate's attitude changed as he realized that this fair-skinned local was planning on lighting up fires like the others were. "And you're planning on bringing me along to hold a pale of water for when you set yourself ablaze?"

 

            Eustass genuinely frowned for a moment. "Not any more 'ablaze' than yer constant burning me over here..." Really, this guy was going to continue ragging on him when he was being nothing but nice? He was better at shaking off annoyance though and it seemed like this foreigner had a lighter side under that peeved exterior, which he was quite interested in seeing surface. "Ya can come, or not. I actually don't need ya to have fun. So...yer call, grouchy dude." Pale fingers released the doctor's sleeve to give him the choice.

 

            Before Law was able to decide for himself Bepo had noticed their conversation and bounced up and down where he sat on the beachy ground, upsetting the sand. "Go captain! Go, go!" The rest of the crew was not so bold to join the chant. It was wise. Bepo mirthful behavior was always given more slack than the rest of them.

 

            With a hard sigh and a decision made Trafalgar stalked off with the redhead, who before they were too far, recognized the cloths they were wearing as Yammaya's and called at the crew, "Nice digs!" There was a unified 'thanks' and Eustass laughed.

 

            Getting father from many of the beach-goers, walking behind the strange pale islander, Law watched the sand at his feet being kicked up and imprinted as they moved toward a damp part of the beach where the waves lapped and crashed. It was cold standing on the damp sand so in matter of moments the doctor backpedaled until his soles were again in the dry sediment. Such a good feeling to be warm. Another few people some yards off stared at the jacketed man; Law didn't like this. Averting his attention, he found the redhead already having lit up the flammable segments on the ends of the two chains and spinning them as expertly or better than the person he'd been mesmerized by a sort time earlier. This might have been what had actually drawn those people's stares. Law’s might have seemed more impressed if he had less stock in composing himself.

 

            Lain down, the stick wasn't of use yet but Eustass was having plenty a time with the pair of chains. He held onto one end of each chain and slung the rest of the length around in circles and twists that made an art of the dangerous dance... Starting slow he truly made a dance of it as his body turned and he stepped at a pace that expressed a style of his own design. Stylized. Very stylized. Distant drums and musical sounds were a good atmosphere but did little to inject themselves into his rhythm; he was practiced enough to evade being disturbed. He lashed the fire ignited ends of the chains like whips and brought them around overhead in slow circles that allowed the flames to burn orange. Upon spinning the tools faster the fire turned vivid whitish with some blue fringes against the increasing black of the night. He went through phases of slow to fast spinning with varied angles, always minding his forward steps so he wouldn't freak out his audience of one...the closest part of his audience.

 

            The doctor stayed back to watch the luminous spin of the trails, wondering how the flaming bits of material were made because they weren't flaking off or sparking. He could smell oil burning on the wind. Hypnotizing wheels of light complimented by the shadowy dancing form of their wielder... As the sun was further gone the pale man just became a solid dark shadow in the middle of the manmade tornado of fire, swaying and turning on heels as he flipped and shifted the chains under and around his limbs, probably forgetting that there was anyone watching him. Law began to realize that this nimble fellow was utterly controlling the intensity of his attention. Unconsciously Law would lean inward at moments of exciting or unexpected pace in the dance, helplessly anticipating the next part to spark up. He realized that he was doing this but it didn’t make him stop reacting. Noises of the beach around them sometimes blended into the electrifying dance, enhancing its showiness.

 

            In front of himself Eustass let the spun chains twist around his hands, the circle compressed, and quickly spun out from his hands again. You could do that, allow the chain to rotate inward but that metal was hot, get it off of your skin fast. In time with the chains rotation he spun them around each hand separately in a similar manner and then simultaneously brought them up…the flaming chains spun horizontally over his arms, whirling. Adding a dose of surprise Eustass angled the tools and with a bit of a running start flipped himself heels over head - backwards...meanwhile the chains seemed to freeze in time and hover in the air, burning orange, until he landed and then they were set into a vigorous spin again. The sand helped to cushion the landing.

 

            Trafalgar's mouth opened unintentionally when the other man stuck the back-flip on his feet and continued weaving the tornado like a back-flip was nothing, whipping the flaming links around again. This redhead's style had some bite to it, unlike the total smoothness which Law had seen first from someone else. With a smirk Law accepted that he liked the suitable style for its master. For being muscular and not slim this individual was rather nimble in addition to being dexterous. Remarkable body...interesting anatomy...

 

            "Bored yet, jacket guy?" the redhead tested the other man’s mood, intentionally letting a chain go, completely releasing it, just to the right of the nearby spectator.

 

            Not only was this man's style crazy but his habits too. Law jumped back, but the flaming tool had been mostly snuffed out by the sand; it had burrowed under the sediment. Stepping on the end of his wrap the doctor lost his feet and fell on his back against the giving ground, sitting up on his forearms against the sand with a cross scowl. The dark made that facial expression barely noticeable.

 

            With the only light for many yards, Eustass laughed as he dangled the remaining burning chain and walked up the short amount of beach between them to retrieve the tool. The flame was certainly snuffed. "I wouldn't have hit ya..." The chain clinked as he searched for the less scorching side to pick it up, eventually doing so.

 

            As the snuffed tool was raised Law peered at the ends of the unlit chain tool. In the dim lighting he noticed charcoal black... "Sponges..?" Of a _very_ toasted color. He collected himself enough to get back on his feet, surprisingly not very vindictive over the prank, and clutching the waist of the wrap so it wouldn't fall.

 

            Eustass laughed hard, "No, those are wicks." On each chain there were three wicks in a line, the last hung from the end of the chain and the first was about half-way up. "They're specially pressed and folded so the flame burns longer with the fuel."

 

            "I'd wager that sand isn't good for them in the slightest..."

 

            A scoff, "Not really."

 

            "You said 'fuel'? I would imagine liquid like that would splash and be fairly dangerous. How do you properly control that?"

 

            "Well ya _need_ fuel to get these wicks to keep burning. People come to the beach because ya never know if the fuel will accidentally spit or ya fuck up and let go of the thing...but the sand makes it less of a problem and if ya blot excess fuel off correctly there shouldn't be much of a chance to have an issue anyway. I burn a mixture of kerosene and white gas so there's less risk of splash. Hotter burning fuels like white gas seem to spit less, but they've got supplies for blotting and dipping and emergencies over there." Eustass pointed toward the direction they'd walked to here from. "It's regulated pretty seriously here, cause a lot of us spin fire for fun."

 

            Thanks to the light from torches around the more populated part of the beach Law could see what Eustass was talking about. A lot of them did.

 

            "So! Did I make that look fun enough for ya to wanna try?"

 

            "I am not using those chains." Far too flimsy. "Perhaps the other one." The stick. Properly called a 'staff' but Trafalgar didn’t know that yet.

 

            It was a little surprising to Eustass that this serious fellow was even partly willing. "Sure! Sure!" Eustass bounded across the sand to a rock protruding from the ground which he'd quickly balanced his staff on, so the ends wouldn't get debris on them. Using the flaming chain he still had he worked at getting both ends of the broad spanned staff ignited and when he had done so he gestured for Law to come over.

 

            The dark doctor did...at his own pace. "Must we be where the sand is coldest and wettest?" Despite the obvious safety of their placement, Trafalgar disliked the cool temperature squishing between the toes of his feet.

 

            "Aw, don't gripe dude. Yer less likely to set fire to things here, and it’s better footing."

 

            But this damn sand was cold...Trafalgar's mind did continue to gripe until the redhead set the flaming ended staff in his hands.

 

            Passively Eustass let his remaining flaming chain swing as his other hand directed and gestured while he talked. "Ya can spin with one hand or two. This white tape is the center, try to stay close to it." Tapping his pointer finger on the marking encouraged the inexperienced fellow's hands to position accordingly with his free hand. "For now, I _suggest_ two hands..." he noticed that the other man was distracted by the flaming head and tail of the staff. A gentle whistle brought the other's attention back around. "Use two hands for now. Keep the tape in the center of your hands as best as you can and the farthest from the flames. Sparks won't fly at ya...and if ya panic just drop the staff and back up."

 

            "Worst-case scenario you go and push me into the ocean to save me from burning to a crisp." And now he knew that it was a ‘staff’, not a ‘stick’.

 

            "Exactly," the redhead laughed, watching how his student was already getting a feel for the weight of the tool by tipping it side to side smoothly. "Feh, ya already have a rhythm."

 

            "Huh?" Trafalgar stopped moving the tool around. "I have a... _what_?" He coyly let go with one hand and rotated the staff fully once with the other before gripping it sternly and grinning smartly. A skilled full spin with one hand, which he made look effortless.

 

            Questioning this at first, Eustass shook his head. "Fuck me... Ya’ve done this before…" Apparently this jacketed man was enjoying himself after hearing of his surprise…and enjoying playing up on that as the other man continued to spin the staff around himself with some skill.

 

            "I did not explain that I wield a two-handed sword which is approximately this length. The balance and weight of it differs but the feel of your staff is something like it." Trafalgar was being quite civil about at first being babied on how to handle this. One thing was solid about Eustass's advice though, something Law silently admitted he wouldn't have thought of on his own. The wet sand made slightly better footing. Clever. Continuing to showcase his own knack, Law lifted the staff overhead and let go of it as the thing spun and it rotated at a moderate speed on the palm of his open hand while remaining perfectly balanced. It was a nice trick and would have continued to be a nice trick if the cold tide didn’t wash up by his feet just then... Suddenly startled by the creeping waves as they washed in and the chilly water shocked his feet, the perfect balance was upset and the staff fell. Its flames went out as water rolled over it and washed sediment against the tool. Oops. Law didn't get a chance to apologize before Eustass started laughing.

 

            The redhead moved mover to the staff and crouched to pick it up first and dipped his flaming chain into the water as well. The wicks on the chain steamed and he held the collection of tools with one hand and stood silently beside the doctor who'd lost his focus. Was he going to say anything to provoke this man's witty tongue again? Actually, Eustass had already learned his lesson. This foreigner was quick enough to keep up with his smart-ass tongue.

 

            "I didn't mean to drop that. I hope that doesn't ruin it... Apologies."

 

            It was surprising that an apology was in order first! "Nah, I'll just let it dry and see if the pads still light. If not, I just replace them. They’re cheap so don’t worry about it." The ends were due for replacement sometime soon anyway.

 

            At some distance from them, others were still spinning fire, playing music, and laughing or talking as they ate food with their friends. Without a flame you were lost in the darkness of the tropical night.

 

            There came a sound from the redhead's tools collapsing together as he released them, letting them fall into the sand. Muffled breath followed. Feet through the sand… Then the sound of lips gently colliding after that. The night's darkness gave them enough cover to indulge and Trafalgar didn’t recoil because he knew that no one could see them.

 

            Eustass's coarse hands clutched at Law's jacket sleeves.

 

            Law's palms pressed at the front of the other man’s chest as their lips stuck together. He’d never kissed someone so publicly…ever, and he wasn’t fully sure why he allowed it now, but it felt nice…


	4. Honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings per this chapter: it’s a lil bit sexy, ya been warned

**Chapter 4**

**"Honest"**

 

[Daybreak...]

            Tussled, Trafalgar awoke next morn in the comfortable bed of a stranger, running a hand through his own short black hair as in a groggy state he tried to remember what he'd been doing before which had landed him here. Hazily Law looked beside himself as he consciously realized that this wasn’t any bedroom of his. A familiar redhead was asleep on the opposite side of the bed next to himself; the other man was partially tangled up in the thin sheets. Trafalgar immediately recognized the fiercely haired and pale skinned fellow and the fact that they were both _quite_ naked. If he was actually surprised it was dulled…maybe suppressed and didn’t show. With a softened stare, emotionally blank, Law watched Eustass’s relaxed breathing in the rise and fall of the other man’s chest. Despite the other man’s wild appearance right now he looked quite calm. After a moment where he realized that he was doing nothing but staring at another man while the fellow slept Law shook himself out of it and moved his legs over the side of the bed.

 

            As he aimed to get off of the cushiony surface, reaching the balls of his feet down toward the ground, Law realized on contact that there was a grass rug under them and also that this bed was elevated pretty high. He looked around the room as he lifted himself up, also shaking free of any blanketing sheets a part of the bed. Had they come to a traveler’s inn or was this Eustass’s home? The intense doctor’s eyes traveled. The walls were a burnished white color, painted nicely, and the floor itself under woven grass rugs was solid stone of a polished and grey sort. In this room there was everything one would need to live on their own: a small kitchen with a pop-up stove, a washroom-like area with a clean sink and toilet that was able to be closed off by a unique looking divider, this bed with tables beside it, and even a wardrobe built of wood between the kitchen and ‘washroom’. There was a grand glow of light in this room, glass windows making up an adjacent wall to the bed were enormous, floor to ceiling, and even while pale pull-down blinds were covering them the warmth of the sun was still seeping in – but at a comfortable level. If the used pop-up stove and loving wear on the walls and grass rugs weren’t enough clues…the amount of clothing in the open wardrobe was. This was probably Eustass’s home.

 

            Metallic and polished rocks gently tapping on the only apparent door in the single room, which was on the wall straight ahead of him, caught Law’s attention for a second; they were made into strands door beads. How artistic… The blinds on the windows were tapping gently too, and other fabrics gently swaying. Where the air that was moving them was coming from was a mystery though, even as Law consciously recognized the relaxing flow. The raven-haired pirate looked up with his less hazy vision and saw a grassy textured roof which was flat and a broad bladed ceiling fan that was turning almost silently. It was centered in the room. He now consciously realized the faint sound of the blades pushing the air…and Trafalgar also realized something else. This was a truly relaxing place; he felt at ease.

 

            Smaller details like the expert build of the wooden beam-supported grass roof, obviously hand-carved and built electric fan, the metallic and polished door beads, grass rugs, green and brown alcohol bottles, carved lamps on the bedside tables, and eccentrically colored clothing displayed in the wardrobe only added to the charm of the place. With the faintest smile imaginable Law shook his head and wondered if they’d drunk all the booze in this place. Very faintly his head was telling him that he’d had a few too many, but a quick use of his power and the headache dissipated. That was all too convenient of an ability some might argue.

 

            Where were his clothes? Law looked around on the floor on his side of the bed but they weren’t there so he walked silently around the base of the bed and a large wooden chest at its end, they were not on top of that, to the other side. Keeping his expression even he glanced at Eustass, who had his face half buried in a white pillow - sleeping, and then looked down at the floor. It was only Eustass’s short waist-wrap there, laying haphazardly on a grass rug between the bed and the wall of windows. Trafalgar frowned and looked up at the bed again, eyes scanning it for his usual bumble-bee scheme jacket and the rich blue and wispy peach stripped waist wrap that he’d been wearing last night. There was only a thin sheet over the bed really and nowhere for clothing to hide. That’s when the overly critical captain noticed another detail; on Eustass’s bedside table, next to a half-drunk bottle of beer and Eustass’s gold bangals was an unopened condom package. _Unopened._ Well, well…

 

            Immediately there were questions. Law stood back, positioned at the foot of the bed before the closed wooden chest, and once again was watching Eustass sleep only this time his gaze was very studious. Trafalgar could be a normal human being and wait until someone with a probable higher tolerance for alcohol awoke and they chatted about what they remembered…or…! …he could use his exceptional intelligence to figure this out on his own; other people’s incite was not necessary for such a freshly performed act. Which act was that though? The most obvious answer was that they’d had unprotected, drunk sex. It was very probable but Law wasn’t convinced. Unlike denial, Trafalgar was good at accepting his fate, he just wanted to figure out what he was dealing with here. The pirate doctor recognized that he personally had a notable lack of after-sex satisfaction, common when it was performed with alcohol, and he’d definitely not been penetrated. The room also did not smell of it, but with all of that moving air that was to be expected. …but alcohol was one of the easiest ways to give men erectile dysfunction. It was also one of the easiest ways to lose one’s good judgement and be forgetful. The clues about this were so even either way. The answer was aggravatingly dancing right in front of him…well actually it was asleep on the bed. It seemed that this time he was wrong, he couldn’t figure this out without someone else’s incite; he gave in to that fact. For some reason Law had an extremely strong impression that Eustass would remember what they’d been up to; hopefully it was nothing extremely humiliating on his part. There was a creeping feeling that if he dwelled on the matter too much longer by his lonesome that he would become angry, so Law set the mystery of the probably sex-act aside. Now where were those damn clothes?

 

            Trafalgar’s vison turned up and his eyes panned across the bachelor-esque room again, being extremely scrutinizing of all things he saw so that he could notice anything that was amiss. There! On top of the hand-painted divider beside the ‘washroom’ area were his two pieces of clothing. He did wonder how he’d missed the striking signal of those colors to begin with. The naked, standing fellow sighed, almost relieved that they were in such a sensible place. Of course he quickly made his way over and removed them from the divider, brushing them off as there was a bit of sand and soot on either. Now he was standing just about in front of the sink and a mirror hung above it. Law saw half of his reflection and this time he _was surprised_ and side-stepped so that he had a full view. He could see his reflection from the shoulders up and he had lipstick smeared on one of his cheeks, neck, and ears. Oh have mercy…hopefully this had all happened in this room, he didn’t want anyone to realize what he’d done. That seemed to be the overly critical pirate’s weakness; he wanted no one to understand his business, wishing to be an enigma and guarded. Law turned on the faucet over the sink, testing the water before he used it, and dampened a black sleeve of his jacket and started to rub the dark make-up off. Damn that eccentric man for wearing lipstick. What a pain in the ass.

 

            After a few passes with the damp clothy sleeve over the smears on his neck Trafalgar realized that they weren’t coming off. These were hickies. Law’s eyes deadpanned solidly as he stared at the displeasing marks in the mirror. If only a scarf was a traditional garment in the South Blue…

 

            “Good mornin’.”

 

            A half-mumbled good morning disturbed Trafalgar’s frown at the mirror and his expression eased into something very neutral; he’d already stopped trying to rub the makeup off but did wonder if Eustass had noticed. Law only heard the man’s voice, not the shift of the bedsheet so much or the sound of feet on the floor. There was a rush of light into the room as one of the pull-down blinds beside the bed was raised; for that Trafalgar turned around. Eustass was still sitting on the bed but staring out of the enormous window into an early morning scene… Was that the ocean? The critical doctor slowly started to walk over toward the bed and the window to see better; he hadn’t dressed himself first but he was still holding his jacket.

 

            Eustass didn’t turn around, he was relaxing gazing outside with an easy expression after putting his bangals back on. There was a deck outside the window and off the deck was a sharp drop off and then the sea…the South Blue stretched out broadly in view. There was some land below but you couldn’t tell from this angle; it just seemed like the room was floating up above the ocean.

 

            If Trafalgar was going to say anything he forgot the words. The raven-haired man climbed up onto the raised bed with his eyes fixed in a gaze out of the window toward the gorgeous blue of the sea. Such depth and color. The blue of the sea was never exactly the same, it had levels and with the sun traveling above it was easily shifted and changed per the time of day. There were waves across the surface that looked like tiny ridges from here, reaching as far as the horizon which looked like it fell into the water. No other islands interrupted those rich shades of blue, it was just a constant stretch. He settled on the bed to Eustass’s right and absentmindedly folded his jacket and rested it on top of his own lap. It wasn’t a surprise to see the ocean, it was just unexpected how it looked from here; they were so high up that the reaches of the sea seemed to bend in a slight curve with the horizon. Goodness. He spent so much time under the waterline that this wasn’t something which he’d seen often.

 

            “Nnnn… I hope ya remember more about last night than me, cause I dunno what we did.” Eustass’s tone had mirth in it.

 

            Law’s eyes pulled away from the gorgeous sight and he flattened his expression at the redhead. “Are you really that useless, Eustass?”

 

            That was a harsh joke…he hoped it was a joke. The man rolled his wine-colored eyes and gazed over at the raven-haired pirate whose response had indicated a few things about their situation. “So ya _do_ want to know what we did.”

 

            The critical man had a hard time holding down a scoff; it was even harder to do given that Eustass’s dark lipstick was mostly smeared off but was still slightly ghosted across his face beside his mouth. Law said nothing of it; it was fitting for a clownish personality. “Yes. It seems perfectly natural as a responsible part of maintaining one’s health and wellbeing.”

 

            Locking eyes with the relative stranger Eustass’s expression edged on amused. “Ya were pretty much _anything but_ responsible last night.”

 

            This was just too mischievous to wholeheartedly believe. “Enough cock-teasing. What did we do?”

 

            “Had a good time.” The redhead shrugged. He could appreciate their banter, it was challenging. “Ya were drinkin’ and actually looked like ya were enjoying life. Ya get pretty vivid when you’re drunk.” The pirate captain’s eyes toward him stayed sternly fixed with a glimmer of irritation; the other man was either annoyed at that light implication or the information. “Well?”

 

            Trafalgar gave up his mild annoyance with a sigh; what he’d wanted was more specific information. “Well…I would like a shower, please.”

 

            “It’s outside. I’ll have to get ya a towel off the clothesline.”

 

            A look of bewilderment followed. Outside? “Does it have four walls around it?” Trafalgar squinted at Eustass as the redhead laughed at him.

 

            “What? The shower? Hell no, it’s a simple one but it works great. I built it myself. Just a showerhead, a handle, a drain, and a curtain to go around it if ya want. When ya have to rinse saltwater off yourself all the time it makes no sense to have a shower inside so it’s outside.”

 

            To have an outdoor shower…that was outlandish. It sounded a lot like an emergency chemical rinse shower. “I hope your neighbors do not mind.”

 

            “There aren’t neighbors for miles.”

 

            Law exhaled, “Of course…” This island’s populace and their customs were baffling. Holding onto his jacket, Law slid backward on the comfortable bed and stepped onto the floor, his tan and tattooed body shifting as he moved to stand. Eustass watched thoughtfully. Law addressed this staring, “Is there something else?” he asked in an expectant tone. Time to get the rest of those details.

 

            Eustass appreciated the form of the captain’s lean muscle and tall stature, but he kept his eyes upward – directly at Law’s. “We drank, talked, and danced. We didn’t have sex…but I wish we had.”

 

            Trafalgar’s dark brows lifted just a tad. “I am quite glad you did not use the expression ‘sleep together’ because we most certainly did that in a very literal sense…”

 

            There was a slight pause where the two men were just staring at each other, contemplating.

 

            “…but I appreciate your honesty.” What a great compliment – honesty.


End file.
